


The Accidental Baby Whisperer

by emmykay



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Babysitting, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Sleepiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 09:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3115352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmykay/pseuds/emmykay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abe Takaya: accidental baby whisperer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Accidental Baby Whisperer

**Author's Note:**

> There's the inspiration art:
> 
> https://twitter.com/phixuscarus/status/534368922049335296
> 
> https://twitter.com/plasticcracked/status/534342518389755904

_Would the crying never end?_

Sakaeguchi walked up the hall, around the corner, through the kitchen, around another corner, through the living room, and back down the hall to his bedroom. He'd been doing this for over half an hour. He didn't like it, but if he stopped, the sobbing baby in his arms would launch a full-on aural assault. He'd had enough experience, just this afternoon, to know.

He had volunteered to babysit, knowing Wakako was having hard time with her new baby, Kimiko. Poor mite, he thought, jiggling the little girl on yet another circuit of his small apartment. He had just checked her diaper, and Wakako had fed her right before dropping her off. Nothing was wrong - she couldn't help having colic. Walking her around was supposed to help. Maybe it would be better if he had a bigger apartment. Maybe, he thought grimly, it would be better if he suddenly lost consciousness and couldn't near her anymore. He understood better why Wakako looked so exhausted, and so grateful for just a couple of hours of babysitting.

There was a loud knock on the door. Sakaeguchi winced. It could only be his neighbor, one Abe Takaya. Their only previous encounters had been in the lobby, where Sakaeguchi had read the name off the mailboxes, the strikingly new label against the older ones, like his. It was also where Abe had glowered at him and Sakaeguchi had tried, and failed, to exude a friendly calm. He had also tried, and failed, to find fault in Abe's striking appearance. 

Much to his annoyance. 

Sakaeguchi really didn't want to find his neighbor so hot. It would have been kind of nice having a loose crush on local eye-candy like that, if Abe would even bother to be half-way pleasant. Sakaeguchi was also willing to accept having a crush on Abe if Abe never opened his mouth. 

Alas. 

Abe complained about Sakaeguchi's slightly irregular hours, he complained about Sakaeguchi's bike in the hallway, he complained about Sakaeguchi putting out the trash at odd times. He had not even received the 'welcome to the building' casserole with good grace. (In thinking about it, Sakaeguchi realized that Abe hadn't even returned the baking dish. It wasn't that nice a baking dish, but it was the principle of the whole neighborly thing, damnit. As far as this went, Sakaeguchi felt he couldn't even go to the cliche of borrowing sugar for a peek at his neighbor's decor.) 

Sakaeguchi peered through the porthole. Yup. There was Hot and Annoying Abe Takaya. 

The door was opened and Abe, in reading glasses, his mouth set into a firm line (Sakaeguchi considered it a waste of a gorgeous set of lips), stood there. "Hello, Mr. Sakaeguchi - what is this racket ?"

A flash of amusement ran through Sakaeguchi's mind. Let Abe deal with Kimiko. Without any warning, Sakaeguchi held the baby out. "Say hello to Mr. Abe, Kimiko."

Reflexively, Abe's arms went out and Sakaeguchi lowered the baby into them. Sakaeguchi smiled, the baby still sobbing out her colic-song. "Mr. Abe, say hello to Kimiko."

"Hello - Kimiko?" Abe said, unsteadily. 

At his words, the baby turned her head and stopped crying. She hiccuped-sobbed, wide, wet brown eyes staring up at Abe in wonder.

 _Great,_ thought Sakaeguchi. He's even got babies under his spell. Still, Sakaeguchi couldn't deny the power. Maybe it's the voice - deep and smooth. He certainly had stopped in his tracks when he first heard it.

"Did you want to talk about something?" Sakaeguchi asked.

"I wanted to see what the noise - "

Kimiko hiccuped, and then blew a bubble.

"-was."

"I think she likes you, Mr. Abe," Sakaeguchi marveled. He was only half-faking it. 

"Well, if that's all - " Abe cleared his throat and held Kimiko out to Sakaeguchi, holding her under her armpits, dangling her body ungracefully. Sakaeguchi took Kimiko, gently holding her in the crook of his arms. 

Kimiko looked up at Sakaeguchi, scrunched up her face, and began to bellow.

"Shit," Abe said.

"Language!" Sakaeguchi scolded. "Think of the child!" He looked over at Abe, who sighed. 

Grimly, Abe said, "Give me the baby." Once the baby heard Abe's voice, she stopped crying. Once in his arms, she gave a gassy little smile. Dismayed, Abe said, "I can't believe this."

"So, you want to swap again to make sure? You know, for scientific reproducibility?" Sakaeguchi asked. 

Making a weird, constipated face, Abe handed the baby back. Sure enough, she began to cry. When Sakaeguchi returned her to Abe, she stopped, looking up at Abe as if he had saved her from a vicious fate.

Sakaeguchi was torn between being delighted and horrified. Sure, Kimiko was quiet and apparently happy? But her taste in men. Oh, no. They were going to have to work on that when she got to puberty. 

"Come on in," Sakaeguchi said, gesturing to the interior of the apartment. "Have a seat," he gestured to the beaten-up couch. "Would you like a drink?"

"I didn't mean to intrude - "

"You just wanted to know what the hell that sound was."

"I - yes."

"Now you know."

"Yes." Abe sat down on the couch, Kimiko flopping over in his lap. 

"Hold up her head!" Sakaeguchi rushed over and arranged Kimiko in Abe's lap. It was only when he was elbow-deep between warm baby and Abe's warm thighs that he realized quite how deeply he had gone. He quickly slipped out.

"I know how to do this!" Abe protested.

"Do you have kids?" This would be big news to Sakaeguchi. He'd only ever seen Abe alone.

"I have a nephew." 

"It's not the same," Sakaeguchi said.

"How do you know?"

"She's my niece." Sakaeguchi frowned. "When's the last time you held a baby?" 

"A couple of years ago."

"Well, then," Sakaeguchi said.

"You couldn't get this baby to quiet down without me," Abe said, pointedly.

"Sometimes it's just that way." Sakaeguchi gave a helpless little shrug. "Do you want a drink?"

"Water, if you don't mind."

"No problem." Sakaeguchi went into his little kitchen, got the drink, thought about some snacks and gathered those too. Then he went back into the living room, where he found Abe slumped backward on the couch, eyes closed, his head lolling back against the couch cushions. Abe's mouth was open. He was snoring. Sakaeguchi noticed the large bags under Abe's eyes and the lines of exhaustion radiating from the sides of his mouth.

Little Kimiko was held against Abe's chest, one hand against her back, the other up against her bottom. Her eyes were drooping with tiredness. She gave a little yawn and snuggled up against the broad chest. Sakaeguchi felt a little envious of Kimiko. That baby, for all her two months of existence, had some skills. Man-trapping skills.

There was a hot dude sleeping on his couch with a tiny baby. Sakaeguchi felt a surge of tenderness throughout his whole body. It was adorable and made Abe seem so approachable. He warned himself against being fooled by the image. Abe Takaya trapped into sleeping on his couch did not mean Abe Takaya would enjoy being trapped into sleeping with _him_. Still, Sakaeguchi was well aware of how effective the marketing campaign would be for anything bearing this image.

He was certainly buying it.

* * *

Ninety minutes later, Sakaeguchi heard some footsteps stop outside his door. He leaped up from his chair and opened it, just in time to stop Wakako from hitting the doorbell. 

"Where's Kimiko?" she asked. She looked considerably more lively than when she had left. "Was she any trouble?"

"Oh, no," Sakaeguchi smiled. "She's been great. Slept on the couch most of the time."

Wakako lifted a hand up to her heart, sighing in relief. "That's good to hear. The other sitters have had a hard time getting her to sleep." 

"No problem."

She cracked a weak smile. "I don't suppose you'd be interested in watching her again?"

Sakaeguchi thought a moment as he figured out Abe's schedule. A funny look came into his eyes. "Same time next week?"


End file.
